Tourism, development, and abnormal weather threaten the unique island ecosystem that inspired Darwin’s theory of natural selection. By Peter Benchley. Photographs by Stuart Franklin.

In the grip of El Niño, the normally cold, rich seas that support a bountiful food chain warmed, with dire consequences to penguins, iguanas, and sea lions. Article and photographs by David Doubilet.

One of the largest internal migrations in U.S. history took place this century as black Americans left the South in search of social and economic equality, carrying with them the soulful music known as the blues. By Charles E. Cobb, Jr. Photographs by William Albert Allard.

Read the complete NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC story. Read our essay and share your thoughts in our forum.
See never before published photographs from this assignment in our Visions gallery.

Archaeologists retrace a copper-trading route used 6,500 years ago and unearth discoveries that shed light on the lives of ancient metalworkers in the Middle East. By Katherine Ozment. Photographs by Kenneth Garrett. Art by Christopher A. Klein.

After crippling the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Japan set out to deal it a death blow at Midway. Fifty-six years later former foes relive those harrowing hours as explorer Robert D. Ballard locates the grave of the U.S.S. Yorktown. By Thomas B. Allen. Photographs by David Doubilet.

Get firsthand dispatches from the Midway team in our feature.

Sit a spell by the cool, spring-fed streams of central Texas and you’ll see why cityfolk are heading for the hills. By John Graves. Photographs by Vincent J. Musi.

As winter melts away, small ponds begin to dot the fields and woodlands of North America. By mid-spring they teem with salamanders and frogs; by late summer they are gone. Article and photographs by George Grall.

The Caspian Sea; Africa’s Wild Dogs; Pirates of the Whydah; Missouri Breaks; Ants and Plants—Friends and Foes; The Rise of Life on Earth